Agitating device for treating liquid used in photographic development process



1957 v. J. ACCROCCO A TING DEVICE FOR TREATING LIQUID USED PHOTQGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Filed Nov. 18, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E V0 y C M r h .C W

I BY 32% (f United, States. Patent AGITATING DEVICE FOR TREATING LIQUID USED IN PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Victor J. Accro'cco, Forest Heights, Md.

1 Application November 18, 1954, Serial No. 469,805

. 6 Claims. (Cl. 95-89) This invention relates to an agitating device and more particularly to an agitating device for agitating a treating a liquid used in the photographic development of photographic sheets.

It is important in the development of photographic sheets that the treating liquid be circulated quite smoothly and evenly around the sheets. Many different types of liquid poured in, in the event that only one tank is used.

Additionally, when the photographic sheets have been properly treated in one tank, they are physically removed from the sheet hanger in the said tank and positioned in the sheet hanger in the second tank. All of this manipulation and of course the necessity of having the separate agitating device for each tank are disadvantages which this invention is designed to overcome.

It is therefore one of the objects of this invention to provide a portable, unitary agitating-device for use in the photographic development process, which device can be physically removed from one tank to another and which carries with it the photographic sheets contained in their respective hangers.

This and other objects will be apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the agitating device of the present invention removed from the tank containing the treating liquid.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the agitating device posiand partly in sections.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the agitating device and of this invention positioned in the development tank.

Figure 4 is a view taken along the line 44 of Figure 2, without including the tank.

In the drawings, the agitating device is indicated generally by the numeral 10. The device includes a frame member which is in fact made up of two separate subframe members. The first sub-frame is indicated by numeral 11 and as can be seen, is substantially rectangular in shape, having short legs 12 and long legs 13. It is preferably made of metal as are all of the other elements of the frame. it will be noted that the rectangular dimensions of the first sub-frame 11 are such that when the device is inserted in the tank 14 that the ends of the first sub-frame extend over the ends of the tank. This is best shown perhaps in Figure 2. Therefore the tank at least in part supports the agitating device. The tank 14 contains a treating liquid used in the photographic developing process. To further assist in the support of tioned in the tank, the view being partly broken away,

the legs 29 of the second sub-frame.

2,776,611 Patented J an. 8, 1957 the agitating device in the tank, the first sub-frame may he provided with supporting members 15 which extend downwardly from the first sub-frame a distance at least equal to the depth of the tank. As can be seen, these supporting members are substantially U-shaped in contour and have the extremities of their legs mounted to the long legs 13 of the first sub-frame. Braces may be provided as indicated at 16 between the supporting members 15.

The first sub-frame also carries a motor indicated at 17. This motor is to provide the agitation of the treating liquid. It is shown mounted to a bridging member 18 which spans the short width of the rectangle of the subframe 11, said bridging member 18 being carried by the first sub-frame in a manner best shown in Figure 4. The shaft 19 is driven by the motor and through a gear box 20 drives the shaft 21 which extends downwardly through the bridging member 18 to a link 22. To this link is rotatably mounted a relatively small wheel 23, having a groove 24 therein. Exactly how this operates will be better explained in connection with the description of the second sub-frame.

The numerals 25 indicate the photographic sheet hanger supports which have a plurality of funnel-shaped grooves 26 therein. The photographic sheet hangers are indicated by the numeral 27 and as can be seen, these hangers fit in the lower part of the funnel-shaped groove 26 and support a photographic sheet 28 therein. In Figure 1, only one hanger is shown but as can be seen, a plurality can be arranged in parallel spaced relation across the agitating device.

The second sub-frame of the frame member which comprises the agitating device is comprised of two elongated legs 29 which are carried on the long legs 13 of the subframe 11. These legs 29 are substantially U-shaped in cross-section and fit over the long legs 13. It can be seen then that the second sub-frame is carried by the first subframe. To the second sub-frame and more particularly to the legs 29 are mounted a plurality of supporting members 30 which support therefrom a plurality of agitating vanes 31. These vanes are mounted in vertical parallel space relation to each other and they are disposed in planes perpendicular to the plane of photographic sheets and are spaced adjacent thereto. This arrangement, as best shown in Figure 4, is such as to allow the vanes to move back and forth within the tank 14 and pass the faces of the photographic sheets 28. As can be seen, the supporting members 30 are substantially U-shaped and have theextremities of their legs permanently fixed to In this particular case, the vanes are circular in cross-section except for those on the extreme outside which are semi-circular in cross-section.

The legs 29 of the second sub-frame also .carry cross members 32. These cross members 32 are permanently fixed to the legs 29 and are spaced in relation to each other so as to fit in the groove 24 of the wheel 23. It can be seen then that as the motor 17 drives the shaft 19 through the reduction gear box 20 that the shaft 21 rotates the link 22. The center of the wheel 23 describes a circle but because of its ability to move within the space defined by the two cross members 32 it forces the second subframe to move back and forth within the tank. The movement of this second sub-frame back and forth within the tank carries with it the vanes 31 which pass between the hangers 27 and sheets 28 and agitate the treating liquid in the tank 14. Of course, power supply means are fed to the motor 17 which power supply means are not shown here.

Turning now specifically to Figures 2 to 4 inclusive, the relationship of the agitating device to the tank when the de ice i ins ted in the ta is best shown in Figure 2. The ends of the first sub-frame 11 extend over the ends of the tank and thereby at least partially support it. However, additional means such as the supporting members 15 are provided as shown. Here also in this view there is shown two photographic sheets 28, mounted by the hangers 27 to the supports 25. The supporting members 30 for the agitating vanes are also shown.

Turning to Figure 3, there is shown how the second sub-frame moves with relation to the first sub-frame and in the solid lines there is illustrated the position of the second sub-frame with relation to the first sub-frame when the first sub-frame is practically in the furthermost left-hand position. The dotted lines illustrate the position of the second sub-frame with respect to the first subfrarne when it is in the furthermost position to the right. Of course it must be borne in mind that there can be as many rows of agitating vanes as required. Referring back to Figure 1 for a moment, there has been shown two supporting members 30, but for illustration purposes, and for clarity, only one row of agitating vanes 31 are shown as mounted to the supporting member 30. However, there are two such rows shown in Figure 2, and in this particular figure, namely Figure 3, the position of one set of agitating vanes 31 is shown towards the left hand portion of the figure and their position when the wheel 23 is furthermost to the right is indicated by the dotted line 31. It can be seen that the vanes therefore move between the sheets 28 and of course between the hangers 27.

This movement is perhaps better shown in Figure 4. The vanes 31 are shown extending vertically from the supporting member 30 in parallel space relation to each other and spaced adjacent to the sheets 28. Also in this particular figure the cross-sectional shape of the legs 29 are clearly shown.

It can be seen then that this invention provides a portable agitating device which is wholly unitary, that is, it is in one piece, so to speak, whereby it can be physically transported from one tank to another during the photographic developing process. This is done by lifting at both legs 12 which easily removes the device from the tank. It is devised to be inserted first in one tank and then the other and there is no necessity of providing a plurality of agitating devices, nor is there any necessity of individually removing the sheet hangers from one tank to another. Of course, in this invention, the sheet hangers and consequently the sheets, come right along with the agitating device when it is moved from one tank to another. This offers definite advantage over the prior art devices, which are both complicated, expensive and diflicult to maneuver, particularly in a photographic developing scheme which involves a large number of tanks containing different treating liquids. This of course is the case in the development of color film.

What has been described is one embodiment of the present invention. Other embodiments obvious to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein are con- 4 templated to be within the spirit and scope ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable, unitary agitating device for insertion in a rectangular tank containing a treating liquid for photographic sheets that comprise a frame member, said member comprising first and second rectangular sub-frames, said first sub-frame being adapted to overlie at its opposite ends a pair of opposite ends of said tank and to be supported thereby, a motor, means to mount said motor to said first sub-frame, photographic sheet hanger supports mounted in parallel space relation across the short width of said first sub-frame, said supports having aligned hanger receiving grooves therein to receive said hangers in a position at approximately right angles to said supports, said second rectangular sub-frame being carried by said first sub-frame and having two elongated legs adapted to loosely fit over the long legs of said first subframe member, and to freely move over said long legs thereof, a plurality of agitating vanes, means mounting said vanes to said second sub-frame member in vertical parallel space relation to each other, said vanes being disposed in planes perpendicular to the planes of said photographic sheets and being spaced adjacent thereto, means operatively connecting said motor and said second. sub-frame to reciprocate said second frame back and forth over said first sub-frame and to thereby reciprocate said vanes back and forth in said tank in planes substantially parallel to said sheets, whereby said frame member, said motor, said motor mounting means, said hanger supports, said vanes, said vane mounting means and said reciprocating means form a single, integral, portable unit that is inserted in and removed from said tank as a unit.

2. An agitating device as defined in claim 1 further including supporting members for said first sub-frame, said supporting members extending downwardly from said first sub-frame a distance at least equal to the depth of said tank.

3. An agitating device as claimed in claim 1 in which said two elongated legs of said second sub-frame fitting over the long legs of said first sub-frame are substantially U-shaped in cross-section.

4. An agitating device as defined in claim 1 in which said grooves are substantially funnel-shaped.

5. An agitating device as claimed in claim 1 in which said vanes are substantially cylindrical in cross-section.

6. An agitating device as claimed in claim 1 in which the means supporting said vanes to the second sub-frame are Uashaped supports mounted at the ends of said U-legs to the elongated legs of said second sub-frame that fit over the legs of said first sub-frame.

References Cited in the file. of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,429,270 Barber Sept. 19, 1922 2,431,442 Wilson Z. Nov. 25, 1947 2,557,307 Newman et al. June 19, 1951 

